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1920 Map of La Porte

Name: 1920 Topographic Map of La Porte
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1944
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1944

About this map

San Jacinto State Park and the historic Battle Grounds Road anchor the northern reaches of this coastal survey, where Buffalo Bayou meets the expanding Houston Ship Channel. The landscape is a complex network of waterways, from the broad San Jacinto Bay to the marshy outlets of Big Island Slough and Willow Gully. Early 20th-century development is visible through the Southern Pacific System and the Galveston Harrisburg and San Antonio RR, which facilitated both industrial growth and coastal recreation.

Residential and educational patterns of the era are centered around La Porte and the outlying Lomax School. Along the shoreline of Galveston Bay, the presence of Sylvan Beach and the settlement of Oaks highlights the region's early importance as a seaside destination. The map captures a moment when the maritime industry and local rail lines were transforming these bayside communities into essential hubs of Texas commerce.